If you are interested in getting leaner without sacrificing too much muscle in the process, you would do well to heed to advice of the late, great Reg Park from an article he penned in 1951 titled “Basic Principles for Gaining Definition”:
===
“It has previously been the accepted theory that low reps and high poundages produced bulk, while high reps and moderate poundages built definition. Now, there is some truth to this theory as applied to the commonplace program of exercises, those which are composed of basic exercises and employ the three-set system. But modern bodybuilders have discovered that for the utmost in definition . . . the utmost that your physical type will allow you to procude . . . higher sets with moderate reps and MORE TYPES OF EXERCISE are necessary.
Not only must you use such exercises as presses, curls, rowing motions and squats, but you must also specialize on the individual muscle groups. Take the press for example . . . the bench press. This exercise in itself works the triceps, the deltoids and the pectoral muscles. Or the standing press . . . which exercises the triceps, deltoids, serratus magnus and trapezius muscles. So not only must you practice the press, but also movements that EXERCISE EACH AND EVERY MUCLE [sic] USED IN THE PRESS, INDIVIDUALLY.”
===
I can attest to how effective this is, using this exact approach to dump somewhere in the region of four stone in a handful of months way back in 2010.
However.
By the end, my workouts were three and a half hours long (I would train from 0600 to 0930 every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, rest for a couple of hours, then work a late shift). Eminently possible for a 19 year old on a gap year whose sole responsibility was to turn up to work on time, but for a serious adult person?
Yeah, not so much.
That said, I have discovered a way to get this approach to work sustainably.
Results do not come as quickly or dramatically because it involves a lot less training than what Reg talks about in this article (probably less than you are doing right now, actually). However, I’ve found that’s not a problem for people who see training as a pursuit spanning years and decades, which, incidentally, is how you must approach it if you are to stand a chance of truly reaping the rewards of your efforts.
Obviously I am not going to teach you what I know for free because I am not a charity.
On that note, the fee to work with me on this is £1200.
Definitely not an amount to be spent willy-nilly.
All the more reason to read the below-linked sales page very carefully to make sure your decision is a properly informed one:
https://philtyreman.co.uk/programme
Thank you,
Phil Tyreman
P.S. The article I pulled that quote from is hosted at physicalculturestudy dot com (easiest way to find it is to google the title).